Summary

  • News updates for 20 March 2018

  • Little Mix singer will also explore pressure of social media on young people

  • Cardi B to play stripper in new movie

  • Aretha Franklin memorial highway approved in her home state Michigan

  • Warning: Third party content, may contain ads

  1. Happy Wednesday everybody!published at 15:54 GMT 20 March 2019

    Media caption,

    Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy, sung by the choir from Pond Park Primary School.

    Blimey, is that the time already?

    Time for us to run but if you're hanging about scroll down for news of Little Mix's Jesy exploring issues surrounding body image and social media pressure, Cardi B is to play stripper in new movie and an a Aretha Franklin memorial highway is approved in her home state Michigan.

    To finish today, as it's #InternationalDayofHappiness, we'll leave you with BBC Northern Ireland School Choir of the Year contenders, Pond Park Primary School and their rendition of Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy.

    The tune was made famous by Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland in 1963, but we're sure you'll agree they've really made it their own here.

  2. Sam Fender, hot sauce and SXSWpublished at 15:43 GMT 20 March 2019

    Media caption,

    Sam Fender, hot sauce and SXSW

    FInally today, Brits Critics' Choice winner Sam Fender played six shows at last week's South By Southwest festival in Texas.

    The annual event in Austin plays host to more than 2,000 artists - and aims to showcase the best in new music.

    Sam and his band shared their video diary from the festival, which included hot sauce shops and gigs.

    Watch above.

  3. Leon Bridges performs feel good tune for James Cordenpublished at 15:25 GMT 20 March 2019

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    The US soul singer, who is also on the bill of the Woodstock 50 gig we told you about earlier (scroll down) got the Late Late Show crowd going last night with an upbeat rendition of his track, If It Feels Good (Then It Must Be).

    You can have too much of a good thing though.

    The track is taken from his 2018 album Good Thing and you can check out the joyous scenes above.

    Bridges is currently on tour in the US with Jess Glynne and will head over to the UK to perform at this summer's All Points East Festival.

  4. The Michael Jackson debate continues...published at 15:17 GMT 20 March 2019

    BBC Radio 4

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    Yesterday we brought you DJ Ace and his 1Xtra pals debating whether or not it's still OK to listen to Michael Jackson records.

    This is following the allegations made in the recent Leaving Neverland documentary, where the late star was accused of several counts of serious child abuse.

    Now Radio 4 have been getting their teeth into the topic too in their Beyond Today podcast.

    Listen back

  5. Are Blackpink about to drop a new album?published at 14:54 GMT 20 March 2019

    Newsround

    BlackpinkImage source, Getty Images

    Newsround seem to think so.

    They've been alerting fans to the fact that the K-pop superstars have just started working on a music video for a brand spanking new single that will be out at the end of the month.

    It'll be the first single they've released since June 2018.

    Blackpink's song Ddu-Du Ddu-Du, external is currently the most watched K-pop video on YouTube, with more than 700 million views.

    Did you hear the BTS fans? Gulp...

    Read more

  6. Aretha Franklin memorial highway approvedpublished at 14:32 GMT 20 March 2019

    Billboard magazine

    Aretha FranklinImage source, Getty Images

    She was a musical driving force of the civil rights movement, now the state of Michigan looks set to honour the late Queen of Soul with her own bit of highway.

    Yesterday, the Michigan House voted 101-6 in favour of officially re-naming a section of the M-10 in Detroit, as the Aretha L. Franklin Memorial Highway.

    It will now go to the state Senate.

    The sponsor, Democratic representative Leslie Love of Detroit, said Franklin was a “special lady” who “gave us all a soundtrack to our lives”.

    Franklin died in Detroit, Michigan last year after battling pancreatic cancer and her funeral was attended by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Ariana Grande, Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight.

  7. Neville Staple of The Specials releases knife crime songpublished at 14:08 GMT 20 March 2019

    Neville StaplesImage source, Getty Images

    The Specials founding member Neville Staple has released a single titled Put Away Your Knives in tribute to his grandson who was stabbed to death.

    Fidel Glasgow died after being stabbed in Coventry on 1 September.

    Mr Staple said the song was dedicated his grandson "and to everyone else who has been affected by violent crimes".

    The song is a remake of A Message To You Rudy, external and highlights the "pain and the anger" inflicted on families.

    Read more

    The Specials recently had their first UK number one album with Encore, 40 years after they formed.

  8. Catfish's gift 2 you allpublished at 13:36 GMT 20 March 2019

    Van McCannImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Van McCann

    The Welsh rockers' new one is taken from their forthcoming album, The Balance, which is released in April.

    2All finds frontman Van McCann thanking those who have remained loyal to him throughout.

    If that's you, then check out a snippet of the slick black and white music video below.

    Catfish headline TRNSMT festival this July in Glasgow.

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  9. Camila Cabello donates cash to refugee chess champpublished at 13:12 GMT 20 March 2019

    Billboard magazine

    Camila CabelloImage source, Getty Images

    The Cuban-American singer reportedly donated $10,000 (£7,560) to a crowdfunding campaign for an eight-year-old homeless refugee and his family.

    Tanitoluwa Adewumi fled northern Nigeria in 2017 to escape the terrorist group Boko Haram.

    He and his family now live in a homeless shelter in New York.

    Tani was recently crowned the New York state chess champion in his category just a year after taking up the game.

    "Tani, you make all of us proud. Keep smiling and keep winning," said Camila on Twitter (below).

    Read more, external

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  10. Fall Out Boy sued for over-use of llama puppetspublished at 12:49 GMT 20 March 2019

    Billboard magazine

    Fall Out Boy attend the 2017 MTV Video Music AwardsImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Fall Out Boy's furry friends attend the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards

    The thing about using llama puppets, as we all know, is you need to know when to stop...

    The US indie rockers - you may recall - first introduced their favourite giant stuffed animal puppets in the video to their 2017 track Young And Menace (below).

    Since then, they've reappeared on stage, on merchandise and even made television appearances with the band to promote their 2018 EP, Llamania.

    Now in a lawsuit filed in New York, the puppets creator claims the band were authorised to use the puppets for the aforementioned video, "but not beyond."

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    Furry Puppet Studio Inc claims the puppets have now taken on "a life of their own."

    "None of this was within the scope of the original limited implied license, and none of it was foreseeable," the complaint reads.

    Read more, external

  11. Jay-Z, Cyndi Lauper & Neil Diamond songs to be preservedpublished at 12:30 GMT 20 March 2019

    The Hollywood Reporter

    Jay-Z and Cyndi LauperImage source, Getty Images

    Music by Jay-Z, Cyndi Lauper and Neil Diamond are among the latest recordings to be added to the US Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.

    Jay's 2001 album, The Blueprint and Cyndi's 1983 LP, She's So Unusual will go into the vault, as well as Neil's song for all occasions, Sweet Caroline.

    So good, so good...

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    They'll all be officially preserved now for future generations, as recordings deemed representative of America's artistic, cultural and historic treasures.

    Also on the 25-strong list are Sam & Dave's Soul Man and La Bamba by Ritchie Valens and Curtis Mayfield's Supefly album, as well as Nina Simone's civil rights era Mississippi Goddam and a speech by Robert F. Kennedy, made hours after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

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  12. Spike Jonze directs Karen O and Danger Mouse telly debutpublished at 11:59 GMT 20 March 2019

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    The new superduo made their US television debut performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

    Spike Jonze, who directed the film Her - which gave Karen an Oscar-nomination in the category of original song - directed the stylish black and white performance of Woman from their album Lux Prima.

    It features and all-female bare-footed dance troupe and Colbert and the audience even get involved with some grooving.

    The album came out on Friday.

  13. Half of Radiohead are not happy about Radio 3 changespublished at 11:39 GMT 20 March 2019

    The Guardian

    Radiohead's Ed O'BrienImage source, Getty Images

    The Oxford band's Ed O’Brien and Phil Selway are among a host of musicians protesting against cuts and schedule changes on BBC Radio.

    Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel and Jarvis Cocker have also put their names on an open letter - published in The Guardian, external - calling out changes to the Radio 3 lineup.

    The new schedule, announced last month, will focus on new young classical talent, including a new weekly programme fronted by rising star saxophonist Jess Gillam.

    The changes include long-running experimental music show, Late Junction, going from three nights to one.

    Shirley Collins, Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor and Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite, have also voiced their concern, along with Róisín Murphy.

    "New works and unexpected collaborations have happened either directly or indirectly due to these shows," the letter reads.

    "This flourishing cultural ecosystem will be damaged, and musicians’ careers profoundly affected, as opportunities for their work to be experienced by the mainstream will be drastically reduced, at home and abroad."

    At the time, Radio 3 controller lan Davey said: “Classical music is a modern, living art form and nowhere do you see that more than in the great performers and composers who are bringing us vital new work or interpretations of the great music of the past."

  14. Grimes is aiming to 'make climate change fun'published at 11:16 GMT 20 March 2019

    GrimesImage source, Grimes

    The Canadian star has released details of her forthcoming fifth LP, Miss_Anthropocene.

    To be fair it reads more like a mission statement, as the release date is notable by its absence, but the 31-year-old describes it as “a concept album about the anthropomorphic Goddess of climate change”

    Grimes went on: "I love Godly personifications of abstract / horrific concepts (For example, Mars as the Roman God of War) - so I wanted to update the list to include our modern issues."

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    "Each song will be a different embodiment of human extinction as depicted through a Pop star Demonology. The first song We Appreciate Power, external, introduced the pro-AI-propaganda girl group who embody our potential enslavement/destruction at the hands of Artificial General intelligence."

    "So my goal is to make climate change fun," she added, perhaps with a degree of sarcasm.

    Grimes has promised to drop some EPs before the album is out, so expect more intrigue until then.

  15. Cardi B is making the jump from music to moviespublished at 10:40 GMT 20 March 2019

    Cardi BImage source, Getty Images

    We're not casting agents but we think this is definitely a great move.

    The rapper has been cast in a new movie, Hustlers, based on a 2015 news article about a group of strippers who carried out a con on Wall Street bankers.

    Cardi will be able to draw on her own experiences for the role having been a stripper prior to finding fame as a Grammy-winning musician.

    Her castmates are reported to include Jennifer Lopez, Crazy Rich Asians' Constance Wu and Julia Stiles, with Lorene Scafaria attached to direct.

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    There's no word of a release date yet but Adam Fogelson from production company STX Films, said: “We could not have asked for a more exciting or talented lineup of performers to join our cast."

    “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with this dynamic group of women,” added Scafari, calling it a "powerhouse cast".

  16. Ariana pays 90% of her 7 Rings royalties to Rodgers & Hammersteinpublished at 10:11 GMT 20 March 2019

    New York Times

    Ariana GrandeImage source, Getty Images

    Breakfast at Tiffany's and bottles of bubbles are a few of Ariana Grande's favourite things, but hopefully full royalties are not.

    It's reported 90% of the earnings , externalfor her track, 7 Rings, it turns out, will go to the estates of songwriters, Rodgers & Hammerstein.

    The lyrics and the melody of the track, from her Thank U, Next album, borrow from the late songwriting duo’s 1959 song My Favourite Things, from The Sound of Music musical.

    Ariana performed the song live as she kicked off her Sweetener world tour in Albany, New York state on Sunday.

    So that's another one to line their coffers...

  17. Woodstock 50th anniversary show announces lineuppublished at 09:44 GMT 20 March 2019

    Chance the Rapper, Miley Cyrus and Brandon FlowersImage source, Getty Images

    It may not have been the first of its kind but the original Woodstock music festival - held in upstate New York in 1969 - is still one of the most iconic.

    Now, to mark the 50th anniversary of the event, artists including The Killers, Jay-Z, Chance the Rapper and Miley Cyrus, have been booked to perform and bring it up to date.

    The three-day festival will take place a few hours away from the original site, at Waktins Glen, from 16-18 August. It will feature several artists who played the first time round, including Dead & Company; the remaining members of The Grateful Dead and friends, singer Melanie and guitarist Carlos Santana.

    Carlos Santana and his band perform at the original WoodstockImage source, Getty Images
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    Carlos Santana and his band perform at the original Woodstock

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    Other modern artists on the lineup include Janelle Monae, The Black Keys and Courtney Barnett.

    "It's kind of representative of this idea of engagement and trying to steer toward acts that are heavily involved in social issues," co-founder Michael Lang told Billboard, external in January.

    "So there's some real gravitas in the performance and we want it to live on beyond the event.”

    Similarly to its spiritual sister Glastonbury - first held a year later in 1970 - Woodstock 50 will include curated neighbourhoods showcasing workshops and crafts.

    Check out the full lineup above.

    Read more, external

  18. Jesy Nelson shares struggles with mental health in new docpublished at 09:19 GMT 20 March 2019

    Jesy NelsonImage source, Candace Davies / BBC

    First up today, the Little Mix star will explore body image and mental health in a brand new documentary for the BBC.

    Jesy Nelson: My Story (working title) will look at how growing up in a social media-fuelled age of selfies, body shaming and trolling is having a profound impact on the mental health of young people.

    Jesy said: “This is a project really close to my heart, and I’m delighted to be working with the BBC on a documentary that will both challenge me personally and also highlight a hugely important issue affecting young people today.”

    The documentary will premiere exclusively on BBC Three before it airs on BBC One.

    Watch Jesy making the announcement below.

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    The band were recently embroiled in an online Twitter spat of their own with professional troll Piers Morgan, after they stripped off to reveal common insults written all over their bodies in the video for their track, Strip, external.

    Jesy and co declared it to be an ode to self love for women of all shapes and sizes, but Piers argued that it was unrealistic for your average Jane.

    "Why don't we stop pretending that getting your kit off is feminist empowerment?" said Piers.

    Ariana Grande leapt to Little Mix's defence, telling Piers: "Women can be sexual AND talented. naked and dignified. it's OUR choice."

  19. Ta da!published at 09:03 GMT 20 March 2019

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    And as if by magic, Music News LIVE is back for another day.

    Morning all - we trust you're well?

    Coming up today:

    • Jesy Nelson shares her struggles with mental health in new documentary
    • Grimes announces a new album
    • The Woodstock 50 anniversary lineup is announced
    • Ariana Grande is not making much from her smash hit 7 Rings

    While we get up and running check out the rare picture of Sia without her trademark wig (above) - posing alongside LSD supergroup mates Labrinth and Diplo.

    Suggested caption: Labrinth - "Alright mate, keep your wig on..."